Sunday, March 13, 2011

Dolphins to work out Arizona pass rusher Brooks Reed

The Miami Dolphins are slated to hold a private workout with former Arizona defensive end Brooks Reed at an unknown date, according to Pro Football Talk's 2011 draft visits and workouts tracker.

Reed spent three seasons as a starter for the Wildcats, earning honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in 2008 and a first-team selection as a senior in 2010. He finished his collegiate career with 114 tackles and 17 sacks.

A relentless pass rusher, Reed possesses good size at 6-foot-3 and 263 pounds. He posted 30 bench reps of 225 pounds in pre-draft workouts and also ran a 40-yard dash of 4.65 seconds.

As a prospect with the pass-rush ability and athleticism to play either defensive end in the 4-3 scheme or outside linebacker in the 3-4 alignment, Reed's draft stock has risen in the offseason.

Reed is currently ranked as the 48th overall player in the draft by CBSSports.com, as well as the fourth-best outside linebacker, behind Von Miller (Texas A&M), Akeem Ayers (UCLA), and Justin Houston (Georgia). ESPN.com has Reed 12th among defensive ends and 85th overall.

While outside linebacker may not seem like a need position for the Dolphins after Cameron Wake's breakout season, 2010 second-rounder Koa Misi (4.5 sacks) struggled to get to the passer much as a rookie and the team has almost no depth behind them.

The Dolphins could consider Reed at No. 15, although they are expected to trade down in the first to reacquire the second-round pick they dealt in the Brandon Marshall trade from an offseason ago.

They'd have to be careful if they are hoping to trade down and still land Reed, however, as his stock has been on the rise for some time now and he is quite possibly going to go at some point in the second half of the first round.

Teams picking after No. 15 with a 4-3 defense that could consider Reed as a defensive end include the Jacksonville Jaguars (16th), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20th), and Atlanta Falcons (27th).

Reed will also draw heavy interest as an outside linebacker from 3-4 teams like the New England Patriots (17th and 28th), San Diego Chargers (18th), Kansas City Chiefs (21st), New York Jets (30th), Pittsburgh Steelers (31st), and Green Bay Packers (32nd).

It's hard to project who the Dolphins will land in the first round because they will probably be picking from a spot other than the one they're currently in, but Reed is certainly a possible candidate in the late first round as he fits the prototype and the need.